Clouds' shapes and colours

Changing Shapes and Colours of flying clouds

Ratnakar

New Delhi (India)

Date: 28.01.2010 6.39 pm

I am admirer of the speed and dexterity of cloud formation that nature demonstrates in monsoon and other seasons as well as at the sunset and sunrise. The cloud formation is not that important to me than its shapes and colours against the background of sky. It is real work on the large blue canvas with broad paint brush lines giving shapes or curves and painted with unimaginable natural colours. Though reflection of sun light creates colours, its aurora is what makes one to think of God creating painting for human’s nurturing imagination.

Since childhood I continue to watch sky as and when I am free from all work. I often look at sky both when it is fully cloudy and crystal clear totally blue. Rapid formation and transformation of shapes and colour fascinates me most specially colored clouds at both at serenity of sunsets and sunrise. This hobby extends to look at white-washed walls of ordinary building in which curvatures leading to imaginations of shapes giving vivid pictures of animals, god and goddesses, even portrait or carved faces of men and women. I always preferred clouds than whitewashed walls of building as these are permanent in nature where as clouds generate shapes and colours that are changing to eternity all over the world. The factors like temperature, humidity, gravitation, reflection of light etc. could be used to explain the phenomenon of cloud formation and may be studied through cloud chambers in laboratory experiments. But I hate these and wish to be innocent as if I knew nothing of environmental science or physics and wanted to be mute spectator to natural changes in the sky in each of the season, day temperature, and humidity. The curvatures, shapes and colours shades that clouds at different places and distance generate have uniqueness and ephemeral life, thus to capture those moment in the eyes before sunset or sunrise. It provided me sense of reflection of my thoughts as it is said monsoon-blind persons sees greeneries. I knew that the changing shapes and colours I saw were reflection of my own changing thoughts. Virtual images that formed, transformed and disappeared based on current imagination do indeed resembles to real men, women, species of animal kingdom, ocean creatures, trees of forest, waterfalls, and many more depending upon moods prevailing then gives as pleasure as bird watching or watching the stars.

The changing shapes and colours of monsoon have some resemblance to my changing thoughts too. The zeal of the childhood’s fascination to admire clouds has not demised or has diminished. Rather I felt that at least for some year I am able to enjoy sky watching. I am yet to get addicted to binoculars or telescope for start watching. I always felt sky watching is better as compared to star watching. I refused to take photographs or make small video clips of ever changing shapes and colours of pictures as well as transformation that take place from time to time since immemorial time.

Being totally free from duties, responsibilities and pressing engagement, before dark I invariably look at scenarios that clouds generate at sunset. The eternal fact that the shapes and colours that I saw at any day since childhood has never repeated. I repeatedly asked myself, am I wasting time in not making those memorable moments by not resorting to photography of the best of sceneries of sky changing shapes and colours. Response to my conscious resonates that if at all I love imaginary changing shapes and colours at those moments then I must avoid capturing those moments. It would be futile to make it short lived stationary object of the ongoing irreversible phenomenon of millions years. Thus I prefer to keep it to myself in my thought to make my mind fresh instead of making ever changing irreversible dynamic patterns into stationary objects just for the sake of sharing with nearest and dearest or with friends and admirers of nature. The ephemeral natural phenomenon must remain ephemeral. The beauty of running water of river fall lies in watching it and not in its pictures of paintings. It is similar to breathing process which supports life of all living creatures but its depiction through pictorial form is ugly process.

The only conclusion that I always arrived at was, is and may remain so is that mother earth that support life system, ecosystem, flora-fauna, animal kingdom, oceans, rivers, lakes, mountains, air, vaporization process, clouds formation process, and aurora of be it northern polar light or phenomenon that I see daily at sunsets or sunrise or at serenity and in my loneliness is gift of nature that is controlled by none. It is ultimate, incomparable, sublime, celestial freedom and joy. If God exist then it is in nature like unimaginable changing shapes and colors of clouds, which cannot be touched or sensed or captured or hide, and being formed uncontrolled and noticed by billions since immemorial time and the phenomena may continue to occur all over sky noticeable at each inch of earth at each moment daily with promise to continue till eternity. Let us salute nature and to pray God to preserve both earth’s nature and climate!

(862 words)

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